The Aftermath
by kagpes
Summary: a ONE SHOT. After 5 years, Syaoran returns to Tomoeda with the intention of marrying Sakura. Little does she know that the road to 'happily ever after' won't be so easy - especially, when you're the cards' mistress.


**Disclaimer:** You all know perfectly well CLAMP owns these characters, not me.

**Author's Note:** This is meant to take place to continue from the final chapter from the CCS manga. Some references to the series and movies might be made, though.

**Update November 13, 2010: **I decided to change this into a one shot instead of a full story. The reason is because initially when I started this story, I had no idea where it would go but I had a clear vision of what happened after the final chapter of the CSS Manga. I thought I would be able to continue the story after the initial chapter and gain more inspiration and ideas, but after a couple months, I realized I have no more valuable input into what I started. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this for what it is. After all, it is my first fanfic ever. =) Thank you to all you who supported this story when I originally planned to finished it. Every review means a lot. 3 Till next time…

/

**One.**

He sat, restlessly waiting for the plane to finally land. The flight from Hong Kong to Japan was only about 4 hours, yet he couldn't wait for it to end from the beginning. He was anxious and a bit worried, but happy to leave because his mother had pushed him to train harder than ever, ever since he arrived back home 5 years earlier.

"_I'm home," he announced, stepping into the foyer of the Li mansion. _

'Three, two, on – ,'_ he thought inwardly. _

_He hadn't even made it to one, but his four sisters were already running down the stairs and were just about to collide with him. They engulfed him in a group hug and squealed with excitement. The noises they made were a mixture of "I missed you"s and "You're so grown up now"s. He knew the drill – all he had to do was stand still for about 10 more seconds before his mother would come to tame her overly cheerful puppies. Again, he counted down in his head._

'Five, four, three, two, on - ,'_ he stopped counting at the sight of his mother and stood perfectly straight._

_She entered the foyer from the left, so he stared straight ahead into the grand staircase leading to the upper floor. He could feel her presence from the distance, the strongest magic he had ever felt besides Eriol's. Her footsteps were soundless, yet even his sisters knew she was there and stepped back to stand near the staircase, still examining their grown up baby brother._

"_Xiao Lang," she whispered as she embraced him in a sincere hug as a sign of 'welcome home'._

_The sound of his Chinese name surprised him. He hadn't heard that pronunciation since before he ever left to Japan. Even when he came back to Hong Kong the summer Sakura visited him, she had said his name with a Japanese accent._

_At that moment, Wei entered the foyer carrying his luggage. Syaoran bowed to his mother as a sign of respect and left to head to his room._

_Nothing had changed about his room, everything was still in place. His king-sized bed was still in the same bed sheets as when he had last left. His father's swords mounted on the wall in frames. The deep cherrywood of the antique Chinese furniture was dustless, meaning someone had cleaned his room probably just that day. He opened the door to his patio, which overlooked the gardens. The sun was setting in the horizon, which made everything look golden. It was good to be home. A maid knocked on his door to invite him down for dinner – tonight, they would have a feast._

_After a very delicious dinner, his mother had asked him to stay behind. He said goodnight to his family, including Meiling who was invited. His mother led him to her study and they sat opposite of each other, both very quiet. _

'What is this about?'_ he questioned to himself._

"_I've really missed you," his mother began._

"_I've missed you too, mother," he replied._

_It was silent again. The grandfather clock in the corner ticked audibly now._

"_You don't have the Clow Cards," she said slowly._

_It wasn't a question. He had been staring at the desk until she said this, making him lift his eyes to meet hers. Syaoran waited for her to continue and his stomach turned at his mother's accusation._

"_You don't have the Clow Cards," she repeated, her voice stronger now._

"_I-," he was cut off by her sharp voice._

"_Don't give me excuses, Xiao Lang," she said sharply as she looked straight into his eyes. There it was, his Chinese name again. He knew she was furious._

"_I thought when you asked to stay after the Final Judgment that you would for sure return with the Clow Cards. But, instead I find out you helped your rival into changing all the cards into her own," her voice dangerous as she continued, "Sakura Cards, hm? What an interesting ring to it," her voice lowered, "Tell me, Xiao Lang, why are the cards suddenly under a Japanese name?"_

_Syaoran couldn't speak. His mother couldn't be serious. He knew it was important to keep magic within his family, especially that of Clow's. But, was it really necessary to have the Clow Cards? Sakura fought for them fair and square, even more fairly than he had done, so why didn't she deserve them?_

"_Mother, I failed the Final Judgment and she didn't," he said almost in a whisper._

"_Do you know what she has done? Without the Clow Cards we are no longer his descendants. Didn't you know that? From the moment she changed the cards into her own, she became Clow's descendant," she scolded him. He froze._

"_What?" he finally managed to reply. He never knew that. If he had, he would've tried harder. A lot harder._

"_Don't you want to be his descendant, Xiao Lang? Don't you want to be the successor of such powerful magic?" she asked, her voice softening._

"_Of course, mother," he said. And it was true, he really did want to be his descendant._

"_Then, there is only one solution," she said, relaxing just a bit. _

"_What is that?" he asked slowly._

"_The only way to get them back is through marriage," she began._

_He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sat silently, unable to say anything._

"_If you marry Sakura, you will have the magical right to take the 'Sakura Cards' and change them into your own," she continued._

"_Mother, I can't – ," he began to protest._

"_But you must, Xiao Lang. You've disgraced our family too much. We no longer have to protection of the Clow Cards, who knows what might happen to us now?" she said this sincerely._

_He couldn't ever do that to Sakura. She worked so hard to get the Clow Cards to be hers. He had watched her do it, he even helped her. Above all, he loved her and she loved him back. She had given him a teddy bear and promised to wait for him. He honestly did want to marry her, but not for the reason his mother was suggesting. He never in a million years could betray her like that._

_But, he had no choice. Without the protection of the Clow Cards, his family would be in danger. The other powerful magical families were stronger than them now without their protection and they would definitely find out eventually. Once they found out, who knows what might happen to his family. He shuddered at that thought. He had no choice._

"_Fine," was all he said before he walked out, shutting the door loudly behind him._

_He walked into his room. His luggage had been unpacked and everything put in the right place. He cursed himself._

'If only I had passed the final judgment the first time. My family wouldn't be in danger and Sakura…' _he stopped at the thought of her._

_She would forgive him, right? If she knew the truth, she would definitely understand. That's the type of girl she was. A glimpse of something on his desk caught his eye. It was the teddy bear Sakura had given him. _

_He walked over and picked it up before sitting on his bed. It stared at him through glassy eyes. He missed her, and this was the only thing that kept them close. He remembered briefly how he had asked to name the bear Sakura._

_He was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Tomorrow would be the start of another day back at home – train, school, eat, sleep. He lay down still holding the bear._

"_I'm sorry, Sakura," he whispered, before falling asleep. _

_The bear had been released from his grasp and fell on the floor._

Five years later, he was back on a plane to see her. His face had lost the innocence of a child, cheekbones defining his face. His jawline was more prominent now, bearing the stubble that comes along with the 'five-o'clock-shadow'. His hair was still messy, but in a sexy, rugged, sort of way. And of course his eyes – they no longer held the bright, hopefulness they once had.

Remembering that conversation, guilt was all he felt. He wanted to see her so badly, yet he knew it would be better for Sakura if he didn't. Over the past five years he had trained hard, but only half-heartedly, knowing one day he might have to fight Sakura for her cards.

The plane landed and he hailed a taxi. It was about 5 in the morning, so he decided to head to his new apartment before going to school. His mother had forced him to enroll for high school in Tomoeda before his departure, to ensure him and Sakura had as much time together to develop their would-be relationship. However, she never knew they were actually in love. He would never allow that information to get to her because his mother would definitely use it to her advantage. Over the years they had already exchanged mail and occasional phone calls with the help of both Meiling and Tomoyo, but to prevent his mother from finding out, they didn't communicate as much as he would have liked.

After settling in his apartment and a quick breakfast, he got dressed in his school uniform. It was a lot different than the one he used in elementary. He had dress pants now, and wore a short sleeve polo with a tie which both bore the insignia of Tomoeda High School. His blazer was unnecessarily warm, so he took it off before walking outside, holding it strung across his back.

It was a beautiful spring day, cherry blossom were already in full bloom. He decided to surprise her at home before school, so he walked through the familiar streets to her house. Everything was more or less the same, only a couple drastic changes. He hadn't met anyone he knew yet, and he was glad. He wanted the first person to know he was back to be Sakura. The thought of her turned his stomach inside out. He knew what would happen in the end – he would have to hurt her. But, at the same time, he was excited to see her again – What did she look like? Was she just as he remembered? Would she be taller than him? He turned the corner to see a girl of about his age standing just inside the doorway of Sakura's house.

"I'm leaving!" she said outloud, as she put her shoes on.

He was standing right outside the gate now, staring at the back of Sakura Kinomoto. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't even breathe. She was there, steps ahead of him, her familiar magical aura penetrating the air around him. All he could do was stare.

She shut the door as she turned and was about to run when she saw him. She froze, wide-eyed.

"Syaoran?" she breathed.

He smiled, still speechless.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until he spoke.

"I can stay in Tomoeda, now," he finally managed to say, a smile forming.

"Really?" she said in awe. Adrenaline flowed through her now – she wanted to scream and tell him how much she missed him, but something was holding her back. The moment was just as surreal for her as it was for Syaoran.

"Yes," he replied.

Her face lit up like a little girl during her birthday party. She ran to him, almost forgetting to open the gate and reached up to hug around his neck. He held tightly around her waist.

Sakura had already been in tears when she said his name, but now Syaoran was too.

But his tears weren't tears of joy.

/

**Author's Note:** So…it's the first chapter to my first story. How do you like it guys? I hope it's not boring. Please R&R! And if you must, constructive criticism only please.


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